Archive for December, 2016

Every year, WWE celebrates the holiday season as only it can: with good, old-fashioned violence and tongue-in-cheek gimmick bouts.
Since 2001, the promotion has regularly featured holiday-themed matches and moments that spread cheer and joy to its fanbase. Typically, they have little impact on anything else going on and are entirely separate of ongoing storylines.
Instead, they exist primarily to entertain.
As you sit back and relax with family, enjoy a journey through WWE holiday history with these 12 festive matches, featuring all-time greats, one-hit wonders and jolly old St. Nick himself, Santa Claus!Begin Slideshow

Say what you will about the highs and lows WWE has experienced over the course of 2016, but the abundance of amazing wrestling that has transpired across all of WWE's major platforms cannot be denied.
From a women's revolution taking place to the arrival of AJ Styles to the return of the cruiserweights, 2016 will be remembered as being a banner for WWE, especially inside the squared circle. The year started strong with one of the best Royal Rumble matches in nearly a decade and recently wrapped up with a women's Iron Man match at Roadblock: End of the Line.
As you ...

WWE Royal Rumble 2017 will give fans their first glimpse into the company's plans for WrestleMania 33, the premier event in the industry.
The namesake Battle Royal is always full of excitement and surprises—from the unannounced entrants to the huge spots that make the match one of the most unexpected and entertaining programs on the company's calendar.
The 2017 edition should be no exception. Brock Lesnar and Goldberg are already announced participants following their Survivor Series battle, giving the event some high-octane star power. Not to mention that, with the brand split, Raw and SmackDown will be battling for which brand gets ...

WWE Introduces New Raw Tag Team Championships
Following their victory over The New Day at Roadblock: End of the Line, Cesaro and Sheamus were presented with brand-new Raw Tag Team Championship belts the following night on Raw.
The new straps are red, with the center and side plates matching the silver color first introduced on the SmackDown tag titles.
The new belts might not have a different design, but it's a vast improvement over the giant pennies Superstars used to carry around.
Kofi Kingston cracked a few jokes about not getting new belts during the trio's record-setting reign, but there's a good chance The ...

It's Royal Rumble season, and nobody knows who's going to win. Despite being early favorites, Goldberg and Brock Lesnar will likely cancel each other out, so it's anybody's guess as to who is going to punch his ticket to WrestleMania.
If the Royal Rumble was held one month earlier, James Ellsworth could have been a legit favorite. Seriously. But now's the perfect time for WWE to elevate a promising young star with a big win in January.
Braun or Baron?
I don't normally do this, but this is a legit push—pun intended. Both Braun Strowman and Baron ...

Kenny Omega is already considered one of the best all-around wrestlers in the business, but he has the opportunity at Wrestle Kingdom 11 to transcend New Japan Pro Wrestling's hardcore following and become one of the biggest stars in the world.
On Jan. 4 at the Tokyo Dome, Omega will square off against Kazuchika Okada for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship after becoming the first non-Japanese wrestler to ever win the G1 Climax tournament and earn the honor of main-eventing the company's biggest show of the year.
In a recent interview promoting Wrestle Kingdom 11 on New Japan World and the replay on ...

2016 has been quite the year for WWE, and many of its Superstars have experienced major growth over the past 12 months.
This year has seen WWE reintroduce the cruiserweight division and title, put the brand split back into play, call up numerous NXT stars while adding more names to the developmental system and create plans for a United Kingdom Championship and tournament.
The level of talent has never been higher than it is right now, and it's thanks to a combination of incredible veterans and newer faces who have the potential to become legends.
Even with the influx of new blood into ...

John Cena's lesser role with WWE in 2016 led to the ecosystem around him shifting in response.
New stars moved up to the company's highest rungs. WWE found new ways to entice viewers. And SmackDown often kept its focus on the future.
That's what happens when you remove an apex predator from the food chain. Replacements look to slide into the top spot.
Cena, once WWE's franchise centerpiece, wasn't around nearly as often in 2016. A shoulder injury took him out of action for much of the beginning of the year. He later left to film the reality series American Grit.
It meant WWE's timeline had far less ...

It's been a year filled with shocks, twists, surprises and emotion, and even then, that probably doesn't do justice to a whirlwind 12 months for WWE.
The company has made stars of some of its most popular talents while continuing to show a lack of creativity with others.
There have been pay-per-views that will live long in the memory, great returns that have paid off and a brand split which has set the company up for an intriguing, exciting 2017.
But looking back at 2016, which moments stand firmly in fans' memories? We asked our team to come up with its most memorable moments ...

A quartet of warriors seized a major opportunity in emphatic fashion on Wednesday's WWE NXT.
The Full Sail University crowd watched on as Andrade "Cien" Almas, Roderick Strong, Tye Dillinger and Bobby Roode all battled for a shot at Shinsuke Nakamura and the NXT Championship. The match was more than a No. 1 contender's contest; it was a showcase of prospects with varying ceilings.
Dillinger continues to look ready for a call-up. Strong showed off his butter-smooth offense. Almas showed aggression that will serve him well moving forward.
Wednesday's NXT focused primarily on the headlining Fatal 4-Way match. The show's other offerings included Rezar hurting his opponent ...